Merry and Bright

This short is dedicated to my girls, Beth Bullard and Michele Harrison, and the memory of when we'd go out in the cold and snow during the holiday season, walk the streets of Denver, and take in all that was merry and bright.

It's also dedicated to all my Rock Chicks out there, far and wide. Gratitude straight from the bottom of my heart for making 2015 another amazing year!

Elvira

"I cut the bonus checks for the cleaning people. And I bought those big popcorn tubs to send to our techie firm, the boys in building security, the other boys in building maintenance, and I sent one to Zipp at his Gun Emporium."

As I ran down my activities on the workplace Christmas list that I gave myself because my boss would never think about that shit, I noticed that the eyes of said boss, Hawk Delgado, had glazed over.

So I quit talking for a nanosecond.

Then I asked, "You don't give a shit about any of this, do you?"

"Nope," he answered.

"Right," I said. "Then I'll get to the important stuff. I ran the extra payroll. The bonuses for the boys are good to go. The payroll slips are printed and ready to be handed out. You wanna do that at our annual Christmas party?"

His eyes narrowed suspiciously.

This was because he knew me.

"We don't have an annual Christmas party," he stated firmly.

"I know," I told him. "Just sayin', you change your mind this year and do that, I'll be all over planning it...like instantly."

"Elvira, it's December twenty-second."

I threw a hand out to the auditorium-style command center that lay beyond Hawk's office, returning, "They're commandos. They don't wanna dress up and hit some fancy restaurant with their bitches in tow. They wanna get smashed, egg nog optional. I just pick a bar that's decorated for Christmas, send a company-wide email to meet at a certain time, poof!" I lifted both hands and flicked them out to the sides while snapping. "Instant commando Christmas party."

"No."

"Hawk," I leaned forward. "It's Christmas."

He stood from sitting behind his desk where I was standing opposite him.

"Yeah, it is," he replied. "And they're gonna get what they want in the form of an extra payroll run."

I crossed my arms on my chest, pivoting to keep my gaze on him as he walked around his desk at the same time I was speaking.

"Some of those boys have more Christmas spirit than that. Hell, Mo has a reindeer with a red nose at his work station."

Hawk stopped beyond his desk, doing this turned to me. "Mo has a reindeer at his work station because his woman showed for lunch with it, put it there and he's got better things to do so he isn't at his work station long enough to toss it in the trash."

This was probably true.

I still glared at Hawk.

"No Christmas party, Vira," Hawk stated, his voice a warning.

"Gwen would want one," I told him, referencing my girl who was also his wife, a woman who would totally be all over the minimal planning we'd have to do for a commando Christmas party.

"Gwen's ready for any party," he muttered, beginning to move again and only glancing my way as he did, finishing on a decree of, "No party."

I rolled my eyes on a, "What-eh-vah."